My Review of Food Tour Penang

Penang’s Hawker Food –

Debatably one of Malaysia’s biggest tourist draw cards, Penang’s street food scene really needs no introduction. Hawker food, as it’s locally known, gets an almost universally glowing wrap no matter who you ask, and a chance to sample the city’s delicacies is considered reason enough to visit the island – never mind the UNESCO-listed architecture and first-class museums. Indian, Malay, Chinese and Nyonya food culture is all well represented here, along with a spattering of other regional cuisines. If there ever was a city where the oft-used euphemism of ‘melting pot’ could be used in earnest, it’s probably Penang.

Hawker food has its roots in a Penang long past, where mobile food carts peddled from colonial door to door each evening to feed hungry (male) merchants and traders who had come to Penang without their wives. Like elsewhere in Southeast Asia, many of the stalls remain on wheels for convenience’s sake, but today they often congregate in informal ‘food courts’ or hawker centres. In tourist circles, Gurney Drive is perhaps the best known of these, but other local centres are dotted throughout Georgetown and beyond.

Food Tour Penang

With only a limited amount of time to spend in Penang, we opted to take a guided tour with Food Tour Penang – not something we would usually do, but an activity I can now highly recommend. The evening tour centres on downtown George Town, and as well as hawker centres, incorporates a few restaurants, hole-in-the-wall cafes and stand-alone stalls in more remote locations. Our guide Junie, a Penang local, gave us a wonderful overview of the city’s food culture and some basic history about the area. If you’re looking for an easy way to sample as many of Penang’s specialty dishes as you can in a short period, Food Tour Penang is a great way to go.

List of Stops Made on Food Tour Penang

Jalan Penang (Penang Street)

Tan Jetty

Macallum Street housing development

New Lane night food market

Sri Ananda Indian restaurant

List of Dishes Sampled on Food Tour Penang

Penang Assam Laksa

Penang Teochew Chendul

Shrimp, pork and tofu Loh Bak

Pisang Goreng & New Moon Cake Goreng

Ban Chien Kueh

Pulut Tai Tai

Apom Manis

Popiah

Char Koay Teow

Wanton Mee

Wanton Mee Black Sauce

Curry Mee

Chee Cheong Fun

Batu Maung Satay

Roti Tissue

Roti Canai

… Plus many more. Food Tour Penang runs guided walks and van tours most days – visit their website to request a spot. Have you ever taken a food tour in Penang or another city? What was your experience like?